The Edmonton Police Service’s oversight body said Wednesday it plans to hire an outside consultant to undertake an independent third-party review of street checks.

Activists in the city have called the practice by police officers discriminatory and the province began its own review last month.

The new initiative by the Edmonton Police Commission is supposed to determine whether the current practice of street checking, or carding — where officers stop and question people who are not suspected of a crime — is "respectful" of all people served by the police, while comparing Edmonton police practices to those used across Canada and other Commonwealth nations.

The commission will also review all data gathered since a new street-check procedure was implemented in 2016 to determine whether the data collected is in line with existing policies.

"We want to ensure that EPS policies and procedures are fair and equitable to all Edmontonians, and we believe this will be accomplished best through a comprehensive, independent review," police commission chairwoman Cathy Palmer said Wednesday.

Over-representation

Black Lives Matter activists released statistics in late June obtained through a freedom of information request on the racial background of people carded.

The data showed black and Indigenous Edmontonians were over-represented among street check subjects relative to their share of the population. Bashir Mohamed, with Black Lives Matter, said the practice should be banned.

"There’s been reviews across the country, reviews that show the practice is harmful and discriminatory," he said. "What we need is for the practice to end."

Carding has been a particularly contentious issue in Edmonton’s Somali community.

Ahmed Abdulkadir, with the Ogaden Somali Community of Alberta Residents, said the review could be a chance to get police officials around the table with black and Indigenous community groups concerned about carding.

“The Black Lives Matter, their grievance is legitimate,” Abdulkadir said. “If the EPS have a reason why they’re doing (carding), they need to bring it to the table and then figure out where we can compromise and solve these problems.”

Police review

Edmonton police conducted an internal review of street-checking practices in February 2016, where they consulted with community groups and compared policies with the Calgary, Vancouver, Medicine Hat and Regina police services. The force also established specific street-check training for officers. Edmonton police conducted fewer street checks after the review, dropping to 22,969 checks last year from 27,155 in 2015.

As part of this internal review, regular verbal and written progress reports on street checks are now delivered to the police commission governance committee.

In a written statement, Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht said he "welcomes the independent and unbiased review of our street-check policies and practices and every opportunity to make Edmonton safer and more secure for all its citizens."

Palmer said the police commission’s review will not "overlap or duplicate" the province’s review, as it will have a community-specific focus.

“I think that it is really important that the commission listen to the community and play our role in being representatives of the community in our oversight role of the service,” said Palmer.

Mayor’s support

In a statement, Mayor Don Iveson said he supports a review: "I have high expectations that both reviews will be inclusive and transparent and will give a full and fair airing to both community concerns and policing perspectives."

Mohamed called the mayor’s response a "cop out."

"The mayor has the opportunity to take a strong stance on this; other municipal politicians have had the opportunity to take a strong stance on this," he said. "It’s unfortunate they haven’t."

The police commission is working to find an independent consultant to conduct the review — including looking outside of the province — establish terms of reference and appoint an advisory committee of community representatives to oversee the consultant’s work.

Palmer hopes the review can be complete as early as December.

Ontario brought in new restrictions on carding this year, but activists in that province still have concerns about what happens to data already collected during carding stops.